Wire netting loom



i l July 2l, 1936- I A. l.. KITSELMAN 2,048,341

WIRE NETTING LOOM Filed Deo. 17, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet l atl" E nllllmn f EME dl' L@ l .gmc/who@ Misa/ww,

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July 21, 1936- A. L. KITSELMAN 2,048,341

' WIRE NETTING LOOM Filed Dec. 17, 19:54 5 sheets-sheet 2' 'I|| will..

Jly 21, 1936. A. KlTSELMAN 2,048,341

. WIRE NETTING- LOOM Filed Dec. 17, 1954 5 shets-sheet 3 July 2l, 1936.

A. 1 KITSELMAN 2,048,341

WIRE NETTING LOOM Fild Dec. 17, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Ivy .51

July 2l, 1936.

A. L. KITSELMAN WIRE NETTING LOOM Filed Deo. 17, 1934 5 sheetssheet 5 IWW" "MNHN y sented. A further object of my invention is to Patented July 21, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT orifice WIRE NETTING LOOM Alva L. Kitselman, Muncie. Ind.. assignor to Indi# ana Steel & Wire Company.' M

nncie. Ind.. a

corporation of Indiana Application December 17, 1934, Serial No. 757,859

My invention relates to wire fabric 'weaving machines and especially to machines of the kind .suitable for the formation of that type of fencing known as poultry netting. 'Ihe particular embodiment of my invention illustrated and described in detail in this application is intended for the production of poultry netting of hexagonal mesh. Such netting is formed of generally longitudinally extending wires which, at intervals, are brought together in pairs and twisted or locked togther, the locks being arranged in transverse rows across the fabric with the locks of each 4 It is the primary object of my invention to sim- V plify the construction of wire-fabric forming ma chines by doing away with the endless Vseries of rows of lock-forming devices which move with the fabric and by substituting therefor a limited number of rows of lock-forming devices to which the wires formingthe fabric are progressively preproduce a machine in which the formed fabric can be readily stripped from the parts which support it, thus avoiding the distortion of the mesh which frequently occurs when relatively great force is necessary in stripping the fabric. A further object of my invention is to provide an effecfabric. Still another object of my invention is to produce a machine in which wear on the twisting gears will be equalized and their working life thereby prolonged. 4

In carrying out my invention, I dispose the wires of which the fabric is formed on the face of a movable carrier, which conveniently is an intermittently rotatable drum on the surface of winch the wires are located by means of outwardly projecting lugs. lReels containing the stock wires are disposed in rear of the machine and are fed forwardlyv through the machine, the completed fabric being rolled on a suitable spool or mandrel at the front of the machine.

In the movement of the wires through the machine, they are progressively presented to two ((31- lill-8) lock-forming heads which extend transversely of the wires and which are spaced apart a distance equal to the longitudinal distance between adja-l cent rows of locks in the finished fabric.A These heads are mounted for independent reciproca- 5 tion perpendicularly to the common plane of the wires and carry rows of ngers' having inclined surfaces disposed to engage the wires and gather them together in pairs as the heads move toward the carrier. ing gears positioned to receive respectively the pairs of wires gathered by the associated nngers,

the gears in one row being staggered relatively to those of the other row.

The timing of the machine is such that the l5 front head comes into operation rst and atleast partially completes the locks it forms before the rear head forms itslocks. After each head has formed its locks it is moved out of association with the wires, the wire-carrier or drum is indexed forwardly to carry the two rows of locks just formed past the heads; and-the cycle of operations is repeated.

The wire-guiding lugs on the face of the carrier or drum are so positioned that the gathering fingers of the heads will free the wires of the completed mesh from contact with the lugs; and thus there is no friction between the wires and lugs which otherwise would oppose ready stripping of the fabric from the carrier. 30

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention: Fig. l is a front elevation of the complete machine with parts thereof broken away and showing in vertical section through the axis of the drum on which the fabric is formed; Fig. 2 3 5 is a fragmental view similar to Fig. l, but on an enlarged scale; Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a fragmental front elevation illustrating on an emerged scale details of the wire-gathering fingers and twisting gears l Fig. 5 is a vertical section on the line 5 5 of Fig.

4; Fig. 6 is a horizontal section on the line 6 3 of Fig. 4; Fig. 7 is a fragmental vertical section on the line I-1 of Fig. 5; Fig. 8 illustrates an isometric development of a portion of the drum 45 on which the fabric is formedpFig. 9 is a fragmental top plan view of the machine with parts thereof broken away; Fig. 10 is a vertical section on the line l-IU of Fig. 2; Fig. 11 is a development of cams forming part of the mechanism by 50 which the twisting gears are operated; and Fig. 1'2 is a development of a portion of the surface of the wire-carrying drum.

In the following detailed description of the embodiment of my invention illustrated in the ac- Each head includes a row of twist- 10` companying drawings I shall in thefmain describe `rst those parts of the machine which operate directly on the wire in the formation of the fabric. c

The rotatablevdrum on which the wire fabric is produced has a long sleeve-like hub I4 supporting an annular series of longitudinally extending bars I5 the outer surfaces of which provide support for the fabric and the wire of whichv it is formed. Conveniently, the bars 'i5 are mounted in angularly spaced notches in the perlpheries of two disks i6 which are keyed to the sleeve or hub It near the ends thereof. The bars l5 have a length equal atleast to the width of the widest fabric which the machine is to produce and, for the sake of rigidity, may be supported at intermediate points by a a au lxoitscllid disks i7 which are mounted on the Each of the bars IE is provided with a longitudinally extending series of upwardly projecting l wire-guiding lugs 2@ between which the mesh wires 2| for the fabric are fed as they enter into association with the drum. Conveniently, although not necessarily, the lugs 2b take the form of U-shaped staples the legs of. which have a press t within holes drilled in the outer surface of bars i5. As is clear from Fig. 8, the lugs 2d' tween them, and their over-all dimension longi=' tudinally' of the bar I5 on which they are mounted is approximately half that of the corresponding dimension of the lugs 28, so that at each edge of the fabric the distance between the border-wire or border-wires 22 and the adjacent mesh wire 2| is approximately half that of the distance between two adjacent mesh wires.

In order to adapt the machine for the manufacture of fabric of diil'erent widths, each of the bars I5 may have a plurality of sets of the special border-wire lugs 23, as shown in Figs. 2 and l2. By disposing the border-wire lugs 22 obliquely with adjacent lugs inclined oppositely, they will not interfere with the formation of the mesh in fabric wide enough to extend into theregion which the border-wire lugs occupy.

' together in pairs which, by the operation of the usual slotted twisting gears, are twisted to lock them together.

The weaving mechanism comprises. a front head A and a rear head B disposed in parallel relation above the drum and adapted to reciprocate toward and away from the drum in suitable guideways 24, as shown in Fig. 8. These heads are substantially identical in construction and :,osassi are perhaps best illustrated in Figs. 4 to '1, inelusive.

The head A includes a bar 25 which serves al a base or frame-member for the support of the mechanism of the head A. On opposite sides of s the bar 25 there aresecured plates 26 which extend` downwardly beyond the bar and are provided at their lower edges with spaced fingers 2l. The fingers 21 are arranged in pairs, yadiacent pairs of fingers being separated by slots 28 and 10 the two fingers of each pair being separated by slots 23. Between each pair of fingers 2l on the front plate 26 and the corresponding pair of ngers on the rear plate 28 there is rotatably mounted a twisting gear 30 having a slot which. l5 in the normal position of the gear, is in alinement with the slots 29 of the associated fingers.

The slot 2S separating the two fingers of each pair and the slots in the gear 3|) have a width slightly larger than the diameter of the wires 20 of which the fabric is formed but less than twice the diameter of such wires, so that two wires entering the slot in any of the gears 3@ will be compelled to occupy a superposed relationship, as

is clear from Fig. 4. Referring to Fig. 7, it will '25 be apparent that each of the slots 2B is ared at its lower end to embrace a pair of adjacent mesh wires Zi on the face of the drum. Therefore, when the head A is lowered to bring its ngers 2l into engagement with the parallel wires 2i. 80 such wires will be gathered in pairs, supe. and directed into the slots of the gears Se. border-wires 22 are disposed on the drum in alinement with slots 29 of the iront head, andere therefore not deflected when the head is lowered.

The gears et associated with the bar 25 are airl ranged in a horizontal row below the bar. and between such row of gears and the bar 25 there is mounted a rack 32 by longitudinal movement of which all the gears 3Q may be rotated. Each of 40 the gears, 3|! is conveniently mounted between the plates 26 through the medium of annular es 33 provided on the end faces of the gear and received in annular grooves in the inner faces of the plates 23. l

The head B is the same in construction as the head A, including a bar 26' and plates 28' similar to the bar 25 and plates 2B. The lower edges of the plates 26 are provided with slots 28' and 2l' defining fingers 21' corresponding to the fingers se 21, and between the plates 2B there are mounted twisting gears SII' adapted to be rotated by a rack 32. The gears 30 of the head B are arranged similarly to the gears 30 except that they are staggered relatively to the gears 30. The fingers 2l' on the plates 26 are correspondingly staggered so that each slot 28' is in alinement with a slot 26 and each slot 28 with a slot 29.

In the operation of the machine, after the wiresupporting drum has been indexed to bring paral- 00 lel stretches of wires 2| and 22 beneath the heads A and B, the front head A is lowered to cause the fingers 21 associated with it to enter between the wires on the face of the drum. As previously set forth, the lowering of the fingers causes the wires 2| to be brought together in pairs and the wires of each pair to be led into the slot of one of the twisting gears 30, as is clear from Figs, 4 to 6. After the head A has reached the end of its downward stroke, the rack 32 is moved longitudinally 7 of itself to rotate all the gears 2li and to twist the two wires of each pair .together to form a lock.

The head B follows the head A in its downward stroke. As the ngers 21 of the head B atraen 3.

.necessary in performing the cycle of operations above set forth will nowbe described. As shown in Figs. l and 2, the main frame 40 of the machine l rotatably supports a drive shaft 4| adapted, as by means of a pulley 42 rigid with it, to be connected to any suitable source of power. Conveniently.

the drive shaft 4| is located concentrically with the drum on which the fabric is formed and serves as a support for 'such drum. To this end, the hub il of the drum may be provided with bushings 43 which receive the shaft 4i.

For the purpose of relieving torsional strains on the drum, the indexing mechanism for driv- '25 ing it is. preferably duplicated at each side of the machine. Each set ofsuch indexing mechanism includes a shaft 5i having rigid with it a gear 52 which meshes with a gear 53 on the drive shaft 4 I The indexing mechanism is perhaps best illus- 3 trated in Fig. 3 and includes intermittent gearing comprising a single-toothed gear 55 which is rigid with the shaft 5I and which meshes with a gear 56 secured to the adjacent bar-supporting disk I6 of the drum. Also rigid with the shaft 5I is an 35 interrupted locking disk 58 which, during the period the drum is at rest, is received in one of a series of arcuate grooves 59' in a co-operating lock disk 59 which is rigid with the drum.

The mechanism which reciprocates the heads 40 A and B is operated by a shaft 60 which is supported above the heads through the medium of a suitable sub-frame 6i from the main frame 40 -of the machine. To avoid excessive torsional strains on the shaft 60, it is convenient to drive '45 it at both ends by gearing located at opposite sides of the machine. Each set of such gearing includes a gear 62 rigid with the shaft Il, and

idlergear `63 meshing with the gear 62 and rotatably supported from the sub-frame 6|. and a 50 gear il rigid with the shaft 60 and meshing with the idler 63.

Vertical reciprocation of the heads A and Bis conveniently secured by means, respectively, of

face cams 65 and 65'l mounted on the shaft 60.

55' Each of these cams is provided with a cam-slot which receives a cam-following `roller 61 mounted on a vertically reciprocable arm 68.

The upper end of each of the arms 88 is conveniently guided by being provided with a slot '6 l! embracing the shaft 60, while the lower end of each arm is secured to its associated head preferably through the medium of a yoke 'I0 which embraces and is secured to the associated head and which may be adjustably connected to the 85 arm Il in order to regulate the stroke of the associated head. The cams 65 and 65 may be duplicated at intervals along the shaft 60 to prevent excessive bending strains on the bars and 2l'. r. 7 The two racks and 32', which operate the twisting gears. are actuated by drum cams 15 and 'Il'. respectively. rigidly mounted on the shaft ll beyond the ends ofthe drum at opposite sides of the machine. The mechanism by means of which 75 these two cams respectively control movements of 'their associated racks are the same, and only 'one need therefore be'de'scribed in detail.

The cam 15. shown in section in Fig. 2 and developed in Fig. 11, has a cam-slot 16 which `receives a roller "I'I mounted on a cam follower 18. 5 The cam follower 'Il is mounted for sliding movement parallel with the shaft Il by means of two parallel guide rods 1l supported from the frame 40 of the machine. The rack 32 projects axially beyond the druminto association with the cam 10 follower 18 with which it has a pin-and-slot connection to provide for the vertical movement of the rack 32 which occurs in the reciprocation of the head A.

The cam 'I5' is operatively connected to the rack 15 32'- by the cam-follower 'I8' which is slidable on guide rods 18'.

The gearing interconnecting the shaft 4i with the shafts 5I and ill is in each instance two-toone gearing, and the shafts 5| and 6|! therefore 20 rotate at twice the speed of the shaft 4i. The

cams 'i5 and 15', as is evident from Fig. 11, are arranged to produce one complete reciprocation of each of the racks 32 and 32' for every revolution of the shaft Il and to provide at the end of 25 each stroke of each rack a dweil during which the heads A and B are reciprocated and the drum indexed. With this method of operation, the

. twisting gears of each set rotate oppositely in performing two successive twisting operations, thus distributing wear on lthe teeth of the twisting gears and racks.

I prefer to rotate the gears 30 for either two or three revolutions in each twisting operation, depending on the size of the mesh to be made, but because no means is provided for controlling the order in which each pair of gathered wires enters the slot in the` gear which is to twist them, some of the locks will be twisted a half-turn less than others. To prevent the elasticity of the wires from causing them to bind in the slots of the gears when the heads are raised, the gears 30 and 30 rotate for a short distance.y say about 90, past their normal position at the completion of the twisting operation and are then backed up to normal position before the heads are lifted.

For the purpose of affording ready access to the weaving mechanism to make necessary inspections and repairs, the sub-frame 6| 'is conveniently pivotally attached to the main frame 40 50 of the machine by means of a hinge pin 8i, as illustrated in Fig. 3. Bolts 82 normally serve to main'tain the'sub-frame 8| in operative position; but upon removal of the bolts, and upon disconnection of the racks 32 and 32' from the cam 55 followers Il and 'Il'. the sub-frame and the parts its carries can be swung about the axis of the hinge pin 8|, as to the dotted-line position illustrated in Fig. 3.

In operating the machine described, wire-reels (not shown) containing a suillcient number of wires 2l and 22 to make a fabric of the desired width are set up in rear of the machine, and the wires are led between idle rollers 85 to the drum on which the fabric is formed.v After leaving the rollers and before entering into association with the drum, the wires pass through guide tubes 86 which are supported from the frame 40 of the machine and which are spaced apart the necessary distanceto dispose the wires in proper 7o spacedrelation on the face of the drum.

When the lmachine is first set up to produce fabric of a` givenwidth, the ends of the wires emerging from the guide tubes 86 may be secured" to the drum by manually twisting them together ends of the wires have been brought forwardly past the heads, power-operation of the machine is started.

As previously indicated, the front head A descends rst and forms a row of locks extending transversely of the wires; and then the head B comes into operation to form a second set of locks. From inspection of Figs. 6 and 8 it will be apparent that as each head forms a row of locks, the two wires of each lock will be drawn tightly against the lug 20 immediately in rear of such lock. lIt will also be apparent that the operation of gathering the wires into pairs to form each lock will free the wires from contact with the sides of the lug 20 immediately ahead of such lock. This latter action releases the wires from any gripping engagement with the lugs and elimi- -nates the necessity of the application of any great force in removing the finished fabric from the drum. While the wire is thus freed from gripping engagement with lugs in front of the rear head B, the wire still embraces tightly the lugs 20 on the bar I5 .immediately in rear of the rear head B, thus insuring that there can be no retrograde movement of the wires relative to the drum when the drum is indexed forwardly.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a machine for making wire fabric, a

frame, a rotatable drum mounted in said frame and provided with an annular series of angularly spaced rows of outwardly projecting wire-locating lugs, the lugs in each row being staggered relatively to the lugs in the adjacent rows, means for feeding a pluralityV of parallel wires to said drum, two heads extending longitudinally of said drum and supported from said frame forindependent reciprocation radially of said drum, two rows of slotted twisting gears supported respectively in said heads, the gears of one row being staggered relatively to the gears of the other row, each of said heads being provided with a row of wire-deiiecting fingers having inclined surfaces adapted in the reciprocation of the associated head to engage the wires on the face of the drum and to bring the wires in pairs into the slots of the twisting gears, mechanism for rotating the twisting gears, and means for reciprocating said heads, operating said gear-rotating mechanism, and advancing said drum in timed relation.

. 2. In a machine for making wire fabric, a frame, a rotatable drum mounted in said frame A and provided Vwith an annular series oi!v angularly spaced rows of outwardly projecting wirelocating lugs, the lugs in each row being staggered relatively `to the lugs in the adjacent rows, means for feeding a plurality of parallel wires to said drum, a 'head extending longitudinally of. said drum and supported from said frame for reciprocation radially of the drum, a row' of slotted twisting gears'mourited in said 'hea/d, said head being provided-with arow of wire-deecting flngers having inclined surfaces adapted in the reciprocation of the associated head to engage the wires on the face of the drum and to bring the VVwires in pairs into the slots of the twisting gears,

mechanism for rotatingthe twisting gears, and

means for reciprocating said head, operating said gear-rotating mechanism,v and advancing said drum in timed relation.

gers having inclined surfaces adapted in the reciprocation of the head to engage said Wires and to bring them in pairs into the slots of the twisting. gears, mechanism for rotating the twisting 15 gears, and means for reciprocating said head, operating said gear-rotating mechanism, and advancing said wire support in timed relation.

4. In a. machine for making wire fabric, a frame, a wire support movably mounted in said 2o frame, means for feeding a plurality of wires to said support, said support being provided with a plurality of wire-guiding lugs arranged'in rows extending transversely of the wires, a head extending transversely of said wires and supported 25 from said frame for reciprocation toward andv away from said wire support, a row of slotted twisting gears mounted in said head, means operable in the reciprocation of saidhead for bringing said wires in pairsinto the slots of the twisting gears, mechanism for rotating the twisting gears, and means for reciprocating said head, operating said gear-rotating mechanism, and advancing said wire support in timed relation.

5. In a machine for making wire fabric, means 35 for supporting a plurality of wires in spaced relation, a reciprocable head, a rowof slotted twisting gears mounted in said head, means for reciprocating said head to bring said gears into and out of association with said wires, and means operable in the reciprocation of said head for bringing the wires in pairs into. the slots of the twisting gears.

6. In a machine for making wire-fabric, a movable support for a plurality of spaced wires, wireweaving mechanism reciprocably mounted for movement into and out of association with said wires, and means for reciprocating said wireweaving mechanism and for advancing said support in timed relationship.

7. In a machine for making wire-fabric, a movable support for a plurality of spaced wires, a set of lock-forming devices arranged in a row extending transversely of said wires, a second set of lock-forming devices arranged in a row parallel 55 to said first set and disposed beyond said first set in the direction of movement of said support, the lock-forming devices of said second set being staggered relatively to those of the first set, means for intermittently advancing said support, and means o operable when said support is at rest for causing a lockrforming operation of said second set oi.' devices and then a lock-forming operation of said first set of devices.

8. In a machine for forming wire-fabric, a support for a pair of spaced wires which are to be locked together, a reciprocable head movable in a plane generally perpendicular to that of saidV wires, a slotted twisting gear rotatably supported in said head, and a pair of gathering fingers mounted on said head and having inclined surfaces disposed to engage said wires and to guide them both into the slot of said twisting gear as said head moves toward said Wires in its reciprocation,

9. In a machine for forming wire-fabric, a slotted twisting gear, said gear being provided on its end faces with annular flanges, and a pair of supports for said twisting gear located at the ends thereof and having annular grooves providing a bearing for both the inner and outer surfaces oi' said anges.

10. In a machine for making wire-fabric, a frame, a movable support ior a plurality of spaced wires, wire-weaving mechanism mounted for reciprocation in said frame into and out of association with said wires, said support being movable in said frame to carry said wires progressive- A ly past said wire-weaving mechanism, and means for reciprocating said wire-weaving mechanism and advancing said support in timed relationship 11. In a machine for forming wire-fabric, a support for a pair of spaced wires which are to be locked together, a reciprocable head movable in a plane generally perpendicular to that oi said wires, a lock-forming device supported in said l head, and a pair of gathering ngers mounted on said head and having inclined surfaces disposed to engage said wires and to bring them together into said lock-forming device as said head moves toward said wires in its reciprocation.

12. In a machine for forming wire-fabric, a support for a plurality of wires, said support being provided with a series of rows of abutmentseach projecting outwardly from said carrier between two adjacent wires and the abutments of each row being staggered relatively to the abutments of adjacent rows, rows of lock-formingvdevices each disposed between adjacent rows of abutments with their lock-forming devices in staggered relation, each of said lock-forming devices 5 being adapted to form a lock in two adjacent wires, the abutments of each row being so disposed and of such width relative to the disposition of the lock-forming devices on opposite sides of the row-that in the formation of the locks the wires are freed from engagement with the sides of the abutments.

13. In a' machine for making wire fabric, a frame, a wire support movably mounted in said trame, means for feeding a plurality of wires to Vsaid support, said support being provided with a plurality of wire-guiding lugs arranged in rows extending transversely ofV the wires, a head extending transversely of said wires and supported from said frame for reciprocation toward and away from said wire support, a row of lock forming devices mounted in said head, means operable in the reciprocation of said head for bringing said wires in pairs into association with said lockforming devices, mechanism for actuating the lock-forming devices, and means for reciprocating said head, operating the mechanism actuating said lock-forming devices, and advancing said wire support in timed relation.

ALVA L. KITSELMAN. 

